CORDON HELPING MORRIS UTILITY SERVICES TO BRIDGE SMART METER GAP

Cordant Technical & Engineering is working in partnership with Morrison Utility Services (MUS) to bridge the skills gap following the announcement of the national rollout of smart meters across the UK.

Cordant Technical & Engineering is working in partnership with Morrison Utility Services (MUS) to bridge the skills gap following the announcement of the national rollout of smart meters across the UK. The recruitment specialist has provided 35 pre-approved temporary Smart Meter Installers to take part in MUS’ intensive training course at state-of–the-art training facilities who may transfer to the utility services provider as full-time employees once they have successfully completed their training.

Under a government initiative to ensure the UK becomes more energy efficient, approximately 53 million smart meters will be fitted in over 30 million premises (households and businesses) across Wales, Scotland and England by the end of 2020. A smart meter monitors both gas and electricity usage before digitally sending those readings to the energy supplier. This ensures more accurate bills and helps consumers to better understand their energy requirements. Everyone living within the UK will be offered a smart meter and every energy supplier is obliged to offer the new technology to both home and business owners.

As a part of the rollout, MUS is further strengthening its pool of dedicated engineers that are fully-trained in fitting the new smart meter, covering both electricity and gas supplies. Cordant is supporting this by vetting and interviewing to ensure suitability before they attend one of four assessment days, covering the South East & London, the South West, the North, and Scotland.

Cordant candidates that can currently fit electric meters will undergo an eleven-week training course covering gas, whilst those already versed in gas meters will take part in a seven-week programme covering electricity. Engineers provided by the recruitment company who are already dual fuel qualified will still participate in a two-week induction course. Once entering the field, the new engineers will be mentored and continuously assessed.

Jamie Doyle, Director of Smart Metering at Morrison Utility Services, said: “As an industry-leading utility services provider we are working alongside E.ON to support the rollout of tens of million of smart meters across the UK. We continue to significantly invest to grow and improve our team and we thank Cordant Technical & Engineering for playing a key role in this initiative. Cordant has substantial experience delivering talented engineers and understands our requirements.”

Shaun Simmons, Managing Director at Cordant Technical & Engineering, said: “By working together with MUS, we are proud to support the implementation of the government’s smart meter initiative, which will help homeowners and those running businesses to better manage their energy whilst also saving money. We blend our recruitment expertise with distinct engineering knowledge, allowing us to make the right connections between skills, culture and roles. This has played a key role in the company’s continued growth and success.”